


Blomsterkrans

by MMidnight26



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Child Neglect, Emotional Manipulation, Family Issues, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon, Trauma, herrah and pk are mentioned but not seen because theyre kinda dead, it's mothers day in hallownest and no one is happy, thk has a lot of issues as they do
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2020-07-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:08:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25415956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MMidnight26/pseuds/MMidnight26
Summary: A day for honoring mothers… why did the thought leave them with such anxiety?They couldn’t be too hard on the White Lady. They had to be the Hollow Knight for her. For all of Hallownest.Perhaps it hurt her more than it hurt them.Perhaps they should take pity on the Lady.
Relationships: The Hollow Knight | Pure Vessel & Hornet
Comments: 7
Kudos: 55





	Blomsterkrans

Hallownest had holidays. Of course it did; it was a flourishing kingdom with its own culture, its own people, its own history. The fact that it had holidays was nothing surprising, though it was something that seemed to pierce through their heart and mind and linger there as if it had made its own pleasant home.

The Hollow Knight, surprised by a fact about their own kingdom in which they were raised. Nothing short of laughable.  
Time and trauma alike had long clouded their mind, leaving their own home but a blur, a faint memory, needing to be wiped clean and dusted and tended to like the very rubble of their fallen kingdom. 

“I’ll be spending a bit of my time in Deepnest today, if that’s alright with you,” Hornet told them.  
Prompted, she explained. “Today is a holiday reserved for respecting mothers. Though there aren’t many left to engage in these customs, even less those to honor, I find it only traditional. I assume you can take care of yourself?”

They had to pull themselves from thought to respond with a quick nod.  
A day for honoring mothers… why did the thought leave them with such anxiety?

Hornet’s absence left Hollow with a lot of time to think, and that usually was both good and bad for them. Good, because it meant they could reassure themselves that they were still there, that they still had their mind and personality.  
Bad, because of every single fear that came with thinking.

If it was such an occasion to honor one’s mother, wouldn’t it be only right for them to visit the White Lady? She _is_ their mother, and if these customs are- or _were-_ well known, would she be hurt if they didn’t show up? What would they even _do,_ anyway? Tell her how they’re… grateful they exist?  
Sure, one vessel out of millions, they should be _so_ grateful she cared so much to give them life.

What was Hornet doing, anyway? They hated to seem insensitive about the topic, but it’s not like her mother is around anymore. The Beast had been put to eternal rest once more. Something poetic, in a sense, to be relieved of sleep. The Beast hadn’t even been around much for Hornet’s childhood, something she still cursed their father for to this day.  
What would she even do in Deepnest? Linger at her mother’s altar? Wouldn’t it be better for her to move on, to not dwell on it and only make herself sadder?

They never talked about it with her, though. They knew where to stop and talking about her mother was one of those stopping points. They hated to harbor such feelings towards her traditions, but it did feel like a useless attempt at remembering someone who was never there.

They found that they had been staring up at the ceiling for an awkwardly long time. 

Hollow’s childhood differed from their sister’s greatly, they knew that. But…  
Remembering someone who was never there…

If you had to ask them about their childhood, Hollow would be able to tell you several stories of growing up in the palace. Being carried around on the shoulders of one of the Great Knights, practicing their signing with the royal retainers, and… their moments with their father.  
They had many memories of their father, memories as clear and bright as the Pale King himself. Times that they had not-so-accidentally messed with his void containers in search of a cool place to bathe, times that they had tapped on his horns because they liked the sound and they knew he didn’t mind, times that… that they had just spent together, doing nothing.

Thinking about their father made them happy. Most of their happy memories were with him. But… it felt they didn’t have much to show for their mother. Could they even remember her being in the palace? It was almost as if she was completely wiped from their memory. Maybe she just wasn’t that present?  
The very thought left a bitter taste in their mouth. Their own mother, not even present in their life.

But... they couldn’t be too hard on the White Lady. They had to be the Hollow Knight for her. For all of Hallownest. She had to know of their imperfection, but it seemed she wanted to preserve any and all hope for her kingdom, even if it meant sacrificing a bond with her only living child. Perhaps it hurt her more than it hurt them.

Perhaps they should take pity on the Lady.

\---

The Queen’s Gardens didn’t allow much room to breathe. Or move. At least not in this dilapidated state. All her servants had been long deceased- either from their conditions or killed by invading mantis traitors. Without them, thorns and brambles covered almost every inch of the once serene gardens. Hollow didn’t mind much, though; a hard shell like their own could handle some brambles against their horns or their shins. They were mostly concerned about navigating the maze-like gardens.

The gardens weren't somewhere they visited often as a child. It didn’t seem like their father had disdain for it- why would he? But it just wasn’t somewhere they got to see much. Most of their visits were to the capital city. They enjoyed those visits very much, to feel the drops against their shell, to breathe in the scent of rain. All they could smell right now was… flowers.  
Lots and lots of flowers.

Even if the gardens had some sort of map, they wouldn’t need it. Being the offspring of a Higher Being meant they were naturally pulled to other Higher Beings. They could sense her light through her many roots, roots that were becoming more and more apparent the more they trekked.

It didn’t take long for them to reach her abode. A seemingly small shell that no outsider would guess to be the dwelling of a Higher Being. Her light drew them in, the small doorway being hardly any issue as they managed to squirm in, keeping their horns close to their back.

Light filled the room as they walked through, being met with the pale visage of the White Lady before them. It was their first time seeing her here, though they felt slight shame at not being surprised by her faded form.

“It comes far to find me here,” her gentle voice spoke. “Such strength it possesses to be able to overcome the Old Light, let alone its injuries in the process. Has it come for peace? Recovery?”

Hollow walked over to one of her roots, gently placing their hand on it. Her head moved towards them, showing that she could sense where they were.

“I was told today is to honor mothers,” they wrote out with their finger. “I came to pay respect to you.”

“And it is generous,” the Lady cooed with a faint pleasure in her voice. And hearing “it” stung a second time, as they had expected. “It pleases me that I have raised such a strong and humble child, one willing to come all this way to pay respect to me, even in such faded state. Time has been just as unkind to me as it has been to you.”

Their hand stilled and their jaw clenched. They didn’t really think having to sacrifice a child was really on par with being said child sacrificed, but it still had to hurt her to a point, right?

“I am grateful for the life that you gave me,” they wrote, trying to ignore her statement. It felt more like they were following a script in their mind, but paying respect to others always felt like that, no matter how many times they did it.

The White Lady gave a faint giggle at the words. “Such well-kept manners it brings. The quality of a true Pure Vessel.”

They jolted and looked up at her in shock.

“It is a shame that the Wyrm would never be able to witness the type of bug that it has become, though I may accept your gratitude nonetheless. Pity it brings as well, however, that it does not visit more. One such holiday should not be the only reason that it visits.”

Their hand shook a little as they tried to find words. 

“As much as I would love to return more, I have my own duties at home.”

“It has no need for worry. I am no prisoner here, only here of my own choice. I understand if it has duties to fulfill; my own dear knight remains above, protecting me with such devotion.”

They decided not to tell her.

“It is only a humble wish of mine that company would come more. I leave you to your own life, but I would hope that it can make time for its own mother. I view it with respect, as well as high esteem.

“It was its father’s Pearl, was it not? So pure and pristine, held with such regard, treasured so.” She gave a wistful sigh. “Come back to us, dear Pearl.”

“You do not get to call me that,” they immediately scribbled onto her root.

She blinked at them a few times as they tried to keep from hissing out complaints that would be unintelligible to her.

“I am not your Pearl. I am not an “it” and I never belonged to you. You never held me with the regard that Father did, you were never there when I was a child.”

Their hand trembled a bit more, but they had to keep writing.

“You only wanted me to be the Vessel. You scolded Father for caring for me, as it would tarnish me. I thought I could take pity on you, but you act like nothing ever happened, and nothing did! Quite literally nothing happened because you were never there to do anything for me. You can’t take credit for raising me, and you can never take credit for who I’ve become.”

They clenched their hand at their side as they shook. All those memories of the palace… it made sense that she was never there. Whenever she was, it was only to put them down or to treat them like only an object. They could only block it out.

“And here I thought that it could find mercy on me,” she murmured. “I’ve lost everything, I hope you know. I’ve lost my kingdom, my people, and my dear Wyrm along with them. You were the only thing I had, and now you leave me, too.”

They gave a quick hiss at her, something more akin to the lashing of tendrils than a proper hiss, as they wrote out a last sentence.

“There would be nothing different.”

And with that, they left.

\---

The way home wasn’t much different than the way they went in the sense that they seemed to completely blank out for the entire trek and suddenly found themselves at their destination.

Once they were home, however, it felt like all the emotions they kept within themselves decided to suddenly burst out forcefully.

They picked up the first pillow they saw and threw it onto the ground. How could their own _mother_ treat them like that? She was nothing different than they remember, being condescending and only wanting them to be perfect. 

Another throw of the pillow.

Even now, she still treats them the same! She can’t even recognize that they’re an actual _bug,_ not just some object to parade around! They did everything for her! They were the Vessel for her! They held the plague for her! They _survived_ for her and she thinks _she_ deserves pity?

They shoved the pillow against their face, slamming it against their horns repeatedly before throwing it against the ground once more and with _no grace of a knight,_ flopped onto the chair behind them.  
In front of them was the table, not very thoroughly decorated, but kept a small white flower in a vase.

They immediately smacked it off the table, curling up in a ball on the chair, clawing at their forehead. They didn’t want to think about _flowers_ right now, because flowers always led back to _her._ The vase fell against the ground with a loud shatter but it was worth it. It was out of their sight now and they could just try to stay here, curled up as small as possible. Their eyes hurt and their shoulders trembled with lingering rage.

It’d be fine if they stayed here, right? Just… a pillow on the ground, some others knocked over, the flower vase knocked over… it was… it was fine, right?

Their claws dug into their shell as cold tears threatened to spill from their eyes.  
They could cry here and no one would know.  
That was fine… right?

They held their knees close to their chest, their hand holding their shoulder as they trembled. How funny that a formidable knight, capable of withstanding and overcoming the plague, would be brought to tears just at a simple disagreement with their mother.

The thought only made them cry harder.

\---

They don’t exactly know how long they were there, but they do know that the opening of the door shook them back to reality.

“Hollow, I’m back,” Hornet called, looking around only briefly before seeing them on the chair.  
“I- oh.”

She walked over next to them- carefully stepping over the broken vase- and sat on the couch, leaning on the armrest to look at them.

“Hey, are you okay? Did something happen? I wasn’t gone that long, was I?”

Hollow turned the other way, their arm still weak and shaking slightly as they signed.

“I don’t want to talk.”

She didn’t seem offended or anything, even though that’s what their mind- their _stupid_ mind- wanted to tell them. She just seemed… surprised.

“Are you… okay, though? Is there anything I can do-”

Hollow immediately stood up, signing again, their movements sharp and harsh as they tried to glare at their sister as best as they could.

“ _I DON’T WANT TO TALK._ ”

They stormed off without another word, heading for their actual bedroom, which would be a much better place to mope and they should’ve done that in the first place because if Hornet came looking for them they could just look asleep and she wouldn’t question it and she wouldn’t be worried and _why did they have to worry her so much why couldn’t they just be okay_ \--

They practically threw themselves onto their nest, burrowing deep into the blankets with some sort of instinct. It felt good to just… be surrounded and enveloped. It felt safe. They could just fall asleep here and forget everything and forget this damned holiday even existed in the first place and just forget about their mother entirely.

They clenched their hand around the sheets, pulling satin to their chest and giving a few shaky breaths as their eyes closed behind their mask.

They didn’t even hear the door open so the shifting of weight on the bed definitely took them by surprise. They knew who was there, though, and they really did _not_ want to talk about what happened. Why would she want to listen anyway? She obviously has _such_ a _close bond_ with her mother.

“Hollow, please, what’s wrong?”

Hornet pulled the sheets off of their head, revealing their tear-stained face.

“Is it something I did?” she murmured, rubbing at the void marks under their eyes.

They shook their head. She could never do anything wrong, it seemed.

“Then… what happened?”

Hollow gave a quiet huff and pulled their arm out from under the blankets.

“I went to visit my mother. I remembered why I don’t like her,” they signed.

“Ah,” Hornet sighed.

They never talked about the White Lady much. Not just because of Hollow’s childhood, but because of her general absence in all of Hallownest’s fall. She entrusted it all to the Wyrm, only helping out when she was needed.  
And yet it had to be _her_ that survived this long.

“What did she do?” Hornet asked.

Another sigh and a nuzzle against the sheets and Hollow signed again.

“She was… very manipulative. Condescending is a better word.”

“Guilt trippy?”

They nodded.

“She wanted me to come back to her and spend more time with her. She takes all the credit for raising me when she never even wanted my father to do so.”

Their fingers dug into the sheets at the end of their sentence. Just… _thinking_ about it made them angry again.

“I…” Hornet started. “I may not know what it is like to have a manipulative parent, but I do know how it is to have an absent one. “

Hollow looked up at her expectantly.

“The Wyrm was never around during my childhood. He left the burden of raising me to my mother so he could spend time with you. Of course I am aware you had no voice in the matter, but I at least know what it’s like to not have a perfect family. Though, I guess you could blame it on the Root as well, for not aiding in your upbringing.”

Hollow chuckled, a quiet breath shaking their chest. “So it seems the Lady affected you too, somehow?”

“Yeah,” Hornet sighed, flopping onto the bed at their side. “I guess she did. I’m sorry you had to deal with her; all her obsession with you being the perfect vessel.”

“She even called me the nickname my father gave me,” Hollow signed lazily, showing their irritation.

Hornet winced. “She called you her Pearl?”

They gave a tired nod.

“Ugh, I’m sorry,” she murmured, lifting their head slightly and nuzzling her own against them. “I suppose I should be glad I never had to interact with her.”

Hollow only gave another nod, sliding onto their back.

“You’re not… _upset_ that I had a good relationship with my mother, are you?” Hornet asked.

They huffed. “I guess… I am? It feels like it’s only more common for a father to abandon his child, leaving the job to the child’s mother. But… I never even got that. I never got to feel that ‘mother’s love’ everyone talks about.”  
Another glance at her. “Even though I don’t envy your childhood, it feels unfair that I never got to feel loved by my own mother. She still treats me like an object.”

Hornet sighed. “I understand.”  
She gently nuzzled against their horns. “Do you at least want me to stay here?”

“Please.”

**Author's Note:**

> thk is my comfort character and i WILL project everything onto them. and then give them a big hug afterwards  
> also listen you cant just have a character call her own child "it" and expect me to treat her like a good mother. the fact that she straight up told the knight "hey the vessel kinda sucked ass go replace it" just does NOT sit well with me  
> if you want good mom content go find herrah lmao


End file.
